- Feb 19, 2013
- 18,833
He was advertising his business without being an IP. That’s a bannin’
Must be selective then.
He was advertising his business without being an IP. That’s a bannin’
I have the plates as well. No hidden issues. I'm betting the "investor" part had to do with all the costs of paying for artists, printers, etc to get MVA to accept our proposed design. We submitted several different designs over a year until we finally got MVA acceptance. We were paying all the bills for these vendors to produce artwork to submit without ever knowing we would get a final approval from this anti-2A state.
We had some really cool designs that were shot down, so the final plate design was our "D" game
I always encourage due diligence, so please check out the club before joining and paying cash
Fair enough, but a couple things I want to make sure I heard correctly, and understand before going on.
Sure! Definitely feel comfortable before joining.
I've got the plates and have zero interest in ever driving all the way up to the AGC to shoot, so I won't be utilizing all the available benefits. I paid the costs just for the plate.
I have the plates as well. No hidden issues. I'm betting the "investor" part had to do with all the costs of paying for artists, printers, etc to get MVA to accept our proposed design. We submitted several different designs over a year until we finally got MVA acceptance. We were paying all the bills for these vendors to produce artwork to submit without ever knowing we would get a final approval from this anti-2A state.
We had some really cool designs that were shot down, so the final plate design was our "D" game
I always encourage due diligence, so please check out the club before joining and paying cash
I thought you had to pay the dude before you could even get the plates. If you don’t, I may do it.
What did they decline?
He was advertising his business without being an IP. That’s a bannin’
Yeah, that annual dues was what I was wondering about. That makes me a bit skeptical.***Disclaimer***
I don't personally know any of the people in the club. I found a discussion about a FB group trying to get Gadsden plates for MD and I was quite interested. I bookmarked the group and kept checking in on the progress over several months. So, please take my experience with a grain of salt...
The only payments you need make to get the plates are the annual dues (now $30) and the $25 in a check/PayPal you send (along with application) to them as the MVA charge for the specialty plates is $25. You have to send it to the President of the club, who then signs it and mails the applications/payment to MVA. The signing by an officer is an MVA requirement. I guess so not just anyone can apply for these special plates.
What does the $30 annual dues payment get you? Not sure. I considered that as part of my payment for the tags. I honestly don't care where it goes as long as I have my tags
If you take the President at his word, the dues will be -in the short term- used to recoup all the money spent to get our club chartered legally and the various designs rammed through the MVA process. There were many costs that we were never asked to kick in to.
Now. Once the old bills get paid, I'm hoping we'll see some constructive use of the money. It's a real club and will have to do the correct thing to stay on the good side of the IRS. Again, I'm not concerned. If you ask, I'm sure you'll get an answer. After that - you can decide if it's a good deal for you.
We had some cool designs incorporating the Maryland flag. But the MVA said we couldn't use our flag as it could be seen as a state entity.
I've included a pic of the original design submitted to MVA.
Yeah, that annual dues was what I was wondering about. That makes me a bit skeptical.
I totally understand. Some may call me an idiot, but I just factor the $30 into the cost of the plates. I really don't care where the money goes. I get that some may feel the President is "getting over" on them. That dude was the one that did ALL the work to get plates approved and find the vendors to make the artwork for the plates. As far as I understand, he did all the legwork.
There are plans for shoots, meet ups, etc. We just haven't had the chance to work it out yet. The goal was the plates. Now that we're there (most of us didn't think it would ever happen), we just have to work out the details. I don't think anyone thought further than getting the plates approved. So once that happened, we were like....OK. Now what?
Plus, I get an absolutely tangible AND legit benefit from the money paid (Gadsden tags). I definitely get $55 worth of benefit/enjoyment from my tags - so I'm cool with the situation. This is not like some promise of something in the future (vapor ware). You pay the money and get the tags. The work has been completed.
Good luck to all with the research and decisions
Look at it as the cost of 2 boxes of ammo which takes 20 minutes to go thru. The positive is giving a big FU to this sh!thole state. It cost around 1k to get these plates approved. Some people paid more than 30 bucks as the original "investors" had to get this off the ground without the benefit of spreading the cost across more people. The owner actually drops the MVA app off to cut down on the wait of the USPO. I have one set of plates getting ready to do our second vehicle.
Gadsden Pew Club is now a member club of the AGC. Doesn't that make it one of the cheaper clubs ($30) to join to get in with AGC?
As much as I like to say FU to MD state, I am not a big fan of advertising that I am a gun owner/potential gun carrier. I don't want to make my vehicle a target for thieves for one, it marks my car as possibly having a firearm inside. Secondly, I would rather not clue LEO in on that I maybe carrying a firearm (legally). I have MD, Utah, DC permits but I would prefer not have that conversation on the side of the road.
He was advertising his business without being an IP. That’s a bannin’
As much as I like to say FU to MD state, I am not a big fan of advertising that I am a gun owner/potential gun carrier. I don't want to make my vehicle a target for thieves for one, it marks my car as possibly having a firearm inside. Secondly, I would rather not clue LEO in on that I maybe carrying a firearm (legally). I have MD, Utah, DC permits but I would prefer not have that conversation on the side of the road.
He was advertising his business without being an IP. That’s a bannin’
My mechanic has the plate, and I asked him about it tonight.
He called himself 'one of the first investors', which raised a couple hairs on the back of my neck. I'd want to check out more of what he mentioned before deciding whether this is something I want to pursue.
Obviously the state was satisfied enough to issue the plates, but without more info, something doesn't quite smell right.